“It is not simply a matter of ‘Arab versus African’ nor is just about ‘oil’,” says Idahosa. “Such simplistic analyses do not take account of the fact that there are many militias in Sudan,  most funded and abetted by the Sudanese government;  there always have been in the more than 20 years of political history behind the conflict. The Darfur problem is the most recent manifestation of these problems, especially in the aftermath of the tenuous negotiated settlement of the civil war in the south.”

Idahosa points out that the size of the region alone – Darfur is an area roughly the size of France and much of  it desert - works against a quick or easy solution to the humanitarian problem of more than 1 million internally displaced refugees who fled local militias accused of pursuing a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Idahosa says there are many countries who have interests in the future of Sudan, including, India, Malaysia and Sweden, as well as  Algeria, China, Pakistan and Russia, who are members of the UN Security Council that is considering trade sanctions against the government in Khartoum.

“Everyone is involved there,” he says. “And even the Americans might not have given up on long term designs for the region, despite their current problems in Iraq.”

As western governments consider issuing sanctions against Sudan, the country is negotiating a solution to the crisis with rebel groups at the same time as it maintains an uneasy truce with rebels in the country’s south. The debate over how to prevent another “Rwanda” is being carried out as the African Union tries to mediate a solution. The crisis requires intervention that major players in the region must agree to implement, says Idahosa.

York U. commentators on Darfur

York University has several faculty members and researchers available to comment on the region’s troubles.

Pablo Idahosa, professor of social science and coordinator of the Africa Studies program at York, can be reached at 416-736-2100 ext. 66939 or 416-658-7265 pidahosa@yorku.ca.

Howard Adelman, a researcher at York's Centre for Refugee Studies and professor emeritus of philosophy, is co-author of the International Report on Early Warning and Conflict Management: The Genocide in Rwanda. An expert on refugee issues, theories of state, the obligations of states and a theory of justice applied to refugee issues, political theory and political thought. He can provide a historical background on the current conflict in Darfur. He can be reached in New Jersey where he is a visiting professor at Princeton University. He can be reached at 609-258-5562 or hadelman@yorku.ca

Obiora Okafor, a professor at York’s Osgoode Hall Law School and a member of the Centre for Refugee Studies, recently received a Fulbright Award for his proposal to study the effects on refugee case law of the September 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. He can discuss international law as it applies to refugees and human rights as well as issues of statehood and self-determination and legitimate governance in Africa. He can be reached at 617-253-0123, ookafor@osgoode.yorku.ca or ookafor@mit.edu

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